A simple way to beautify onions

Vegetables can look beautiful, but too often we rush their preparation and turn out a version of grey mush.

London chef-restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi treats vegetables with respect. Big pans of his favourites double as works of visual art.

In his 10 establishments, the cutting of vegetables is important. An essay in his new book Ottolenghi Flavor (Appetite at Random House, $45) explains how cutting up onions releases the “volatile compounds within the onion.”

Ottolenghi's book offers more than 100 recipes, some requiring extensive specialty shopping, others as simple as this onion dish. Miso is one of his favourite additions. This recipe uses miso paste. Also called soybean paste, it is sold in Asian specialty stores and some supermarkets and may be found in the refrigerated sections of health food stores.